Daimaru reopens larger store near Tokyo Station

Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co. has opened its expanded Daimaru Tokyo store near Tokyo Station, aiming to attract businesspeople and tourists with a wide range of clothing and sundry products.

Opened Monday, the first to seventh floors are devoted to clothing and sundry goods, the 11th floor has a large sports and outdoor goods display, and the 12th floor has several restaurants.

The first and second floors accommodate Louis Vuitton, Fendi and five other luxury brand shops, and the third to fifth floors have 21 select shops for young people.

On the seventh floor, 2,000 different bags, such as shopping bags and handbags, are on sale.

Sales down at big stores

jiji

Sales dropped at three of the nation’s four major department store chains in August, mainly because fall clothing didn’t move well thanks to the hot weather, according to the operators’ preliminary data released as of this week.

Sales were not helped by delayed summer discount campaigns at some stores, a step taken to improve profitability, people in the industry said.

Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co., under the wing of J. Front Retailing Co., was the only winner. It enjoyed an increase of 0.4 percent thanks to brisk sales of sundries, including umbrellas, and big-ticket items such as luxury watches.

This summer, some chains broke ranks by delaying the start of discount campaigns by two weeks from early July, when the industry usually starts summer campaigns en masse.

Takashimaya could not recoup its losses from July sales in August, officials said, noting that the firm had failed to meet expectations from customers for an early start of discounts.